Cairo butcher offers shelter for children with cancer

CAIRO (Reuters) – 3 decades back, Cairo butcher Zaza Ogaz decided to do one thing to assistance family members bringing their young children to a nearby cancer clinic.

He took an empty condominium in his building, preset it up with beds and household furniture and supplied it free of charge to family members who would otherwise have to hire rooms in the neighbourhood when their young children have been getting chemotherapy and other remedies.

“I acquired the strategy mainly because I felt undesirable immediately after I discovered individuals renting apartments or beds to sufferers for large amounts of funds,” Ogaz said.

“So I decided that I would do one thing for free of charge and I will not acknowledge donations. Why really should individuals go through from not only illness but also superior fees?”

Israa, 9, who was identified with cancer, sits with her mother and waits to get therapy throughout her keep at Zaza Ogaz’s free of charge housing for sufferers receiving therapy at a nearby cancer clinic, in Cairo, Egypt February 12, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

The 50-12 months-aged offers meals, which he pays for from the proceeds of his butcher’s shop.

Families can keep as extended as they will need. Ogaz refuses to acknowledge donations, expressing he is accomplishing his charitable perform in honour of his late mother and mother-in-law.

In the entrance corridor, children’s scooters are parked next to wheelchairs. In a bed room decorated with cartoons of Winnie the Pooh and Minnie Mouse, young children look at television. Some have travelled with their family members from distant components of Egypt.

“I came listed here and he welcomed me and I discovered a position to keep. I explained to him I am not transferring until eventually I am performed,” said Om Israa, a mother whose baby is currently being treated at the clinic.

“He treats the young children extremely properly. He buys presents and performs with them.”